Chemical vapor deposition method for the incorporation of nitrogen into materials including germanium and antimony

ABSTRACT

A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for depositing materials including germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) and nitrogen (N) which, in some embodiments, has the ability to fill high aspect ratio openings is provided. The CVD method of the instant invention permits for the control of nitrogen-doped GeSb stoichiometry over a wide range of values and the inventive method is performed at a substrate temperature of less than 400° C., which makes the inventive method compatible with existing interconnect processes and materials. In some embodiments, the inventive method is a non-selective CVD process, which means that the nitrogen-doped GeSb materials are deposited equally well on insulating and non-insulating materials. In other embodiments, a selective CVD process is provided in which the nitrogen-doped GeSb materials are deposited only on regions of a substrate in a metal which is capable of forming an eutectic alloy with germanium.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/621,381, filed Jan. 9, 2007 the entire content and disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and tosemiconductor device fabrication. More particularly, the inventionrelates to a chemical vapor deposition method of incorporating nitrogeninto a material that comprises germanium (Ge) and antimony (Sb). Thematerial (e.g., nitrogen-doped GeSb) is formed on a surface of asubstrate, which may or may include a metal. The present invention alsorelates to structures which include a layer of the material comprisingGe, Sb and nitrogen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Materials, which may, via suitable temperature excursions, be reversiblyswitched between two structural phases characterized by differentresistivities have the potential to be employed as phase change memorymaterials. One class of materials having such properties is materialsthat comprise germanium (Ge) and antimony (Sb). The materials includingGe and Sb are hereinafter referred to as GeSb materials.

In order to fabricate practical memory devices, it will be necessary todeposit such materials upon substrates of substantial topographiccomplexity. A possible structure for implementing a phase change memorydevice is a line-and-via structure similar to those found ininterconnect wiring structures. In such structures, the phase changematerial in the narrow via would constitute the active element of thedevice.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a promising potential method todeposit GeSb materials. It has been found that the addition of smallamounts (on the order of about 10 atomic percent or less) of dopantatoms, such as nitrogen, is a useful technique for modifying theresistivity of these films.

While CVD processes often exhibit desirable conformality, CVD processesfrequently are performed at temperatures substantially exceeding 400° C.Such a high deposition temperature severely restricts the choice ofmaterials which may be included in an integrated device. Therefore, CVDprocesses which are operable substantially below 400° C. are desired.

Low temperature CVD processes are even more desirable for materialscomprising at least two different elements selected from Groups IVB, VB,and VIB of the Periodic Table of Elements (IUPAC nomenclature) sinceseveral elements such as, for example, antimony (Sb), arsenic (Ar),tellurium (Te), selenium (Se), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S), exhibitvapor pressure approaching or exceeding 1 mtorr at temperatures as lowas 500° C.

Any deposition process for materials including the above-mentionedelements from Groups IVB, VB, and VIB of the Periodic Table of Elements,such as GeSb, would have to compete with a substantial evaporation rate.

In view of the above, there is a need for providing a low temperature(less than 400° C.) CVD process in which nitrogen atoms can beincorporated into a material that comprises germanium (Ge) and antimony(Sb).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a low temperature (less than 400° C.) CVDdeposition method in which nitrogen atoms can be incorporated into amaterial that comprises germanium (Ge) and antimony (Sb). Such amaterial is hereinafter referred to as a nitrogen-doped GeSb material.

Standard methods for the deposition of nitrogen into GeSb materialscannot be adapted. The standard method to deposit nitrides is to useprecursors comprising a non-nitrogen component(s) of the film and addammonia (or an organic amine, or more rarely hydrazine or an organicderivative of hydrazine). No such scheme can meet a low temperaturedeposition requirement, as the nitrogen sources are insufficientlyreactive at the desired low temperature. For example, the CVD of siliconnitrogen using ammonia is typically performed at temperatures exceeding600° C. The same holds true for the alternative nitrogen sourcesmentioned above. While this is at least a means for high temperaturedeposition of silicon nitrogen, the use of such high temperatures formaterials comprising, for example, Sb, would result in the evaporationof Sb.

The present invention provides a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methodfor depositing nitrogen-doped GeSb materials onto a surface of asubstrate.

In some embodiments, the inventive method has the ability to fill highaspect ratio openings. The term “high aspect ratio” is used herein todenote an opening that has a height to width ratio that exceeds 3:1. Theterm “opening” denotes a line opening, a via opening, a combinedline/via structure, a trench, etc. which can be fabricated usinglithography and etching.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the nitrogen-doped GeSbmaterials are deposited non-selectively onto a surface (located on, orwithin) of a substrate.

In other embodiments, the present invention provides a CVD method forselectively depositing a nitrogen-doped GeSb material onto at least onepreselected surface of a substrate. The preselected surface may belocated on, or within, the substrate.

The CVD method of the instant invention permits for the control ofnitrogen-doped GeSb stoichiometry over a wide range of values and theinventive method is performed at a substrate temperature of less than400° C., which makes the inventive method compatible with existinginterconnect processes and materials. In accordance with the presentinvention, nitrogen-doped GeSb materials can be formed of the basicformula Ge_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 2 to about 98 atomic%, y is from about 2 to about 98 atomic %, and z is from about 1 toabout 20 atomic %.

In general terms, the method of the present invention comprises:

positioning a substrate having an exposed surface in a chemical vapordeposition reactor chamber;

evacuating said reactor chamber including said substrate to a basepressure of less than 1E-3 torr, and preferably less than 1E-6 ton;

heating the substrate to a temperature that is less than 400° C.;

providing an antimony-containing precursor, a germanium-containingprecursor and an azide to said reactor chamber; and

depositing a material comprising germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) andnitrogen (N) onto said exposed surface of the substrate from saidprecursors.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the substrate is aninterconnect dielectric material that has at least one opening that hasan aspect ratio of greater than 3:1 and the inventive method has theability to selectively fill the at least one opening with anitrogen-doped GeSb material. In other embodiments, the substrate has asubstantially planar surface and the inventive method has the ability todeposit a nitrogen-doped GeSb material onto the exposed surface of thesubstrate.

In addition to the above method, the present invention also contemplatesa method wherein a metal is used to catalyze the deposition of anitrogen-doped GeSb material.

This aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of:

positioning a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition reactor chamber,said substrate including a region that contains a metal that is capableof forming an eutectic alloy with germanium;

evacuating said reactor chamber including said substrate to a basepressure of less than 1E-3 torr, and preferably less than 1E-6 ton;

heating the substrate to a temperature that is less than 400° C.;

providing an antimony-containing precursor, a germanium-containingprecursor and an azide to said reactor chamber; and

depositing a material comprising germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) andnitrogen (N) onto said region of the substrate that contains said metalfrom said precursors.

In some embodiments of this aspect of the present invention, thesubstrate is an interconnect dielectric material that has at least oneopening that has an aspect ratio of greater than 3:1 and the inventivemethod has the ability to selectively fill the at least one opening witha nitrogen-doped GeSb material. In this embodiment of the presentinvention, the metal that is capable of forming an eutectic alloy withgermanium is present at the bottom of the at least one opening. In otherembodiments, the substrate has a substantially planar surface and theinventive method has the ability to selectively deposit a nitrogen-dopedGeSb material on preselected regions of the substrate that includes saidmetal.

In addition to the above method, the present invention also contemplatesa method wherein the metal and the material comprising Ge, Sb and N(nitrogen) are deposited in the same reactor within breaking vacuum.This aspect of the present invention comprises:

positioning a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition reactor chamber;

evacuating said reactor chamber including said substrate to a basepressure of less than 1E-3 torr, and preferably less than 1E-6 torr;

heating the substrate to a temperature that is less than 400° C.;

forming a metal that is capable of forming an eutectic alloy withgermanium on a region of said substrate;

providing an antimony-containing precursor, a germanium-containingprecursor and an azide to said reactor chamber; and

depositing a material comprising germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) andnitrogen (N) onto said region of the substrate that contains said metalfrom said precursors.

In addition to the above, the present invention also relates tosemiconductor structures including the nitrogen-doped GeSb materials. Inone embodiment, the semiconductor structure comprises:

a substrate including at least one opening located therein, saidsubstrate having an aspect ratio of greater than 3:1; and

a chemical vapor deposited material comprising Ge, Sb and N locatedwithin said at least one opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor structure isprovided that comprises:

a substrate including a region that comprises a metal; and

a material comprises Ge, Sb and N on said metal, wherein said materialincludes a surface layer of said metal that has a thickness of less than5 monolayers.

The term “monolayers” is used herein to denote a surface layer of saidmetal that is one atom thick.

In accordance with this aspect of the present invention, thenitrogen-doped GeSb material is sandwiched between a lower metal layerused to catalyze the growth of the nitrogen-doped GeSb and an uppersurface metal layer that forms during the growth of the nitrogen-dopedGeSb material. If, prior to the initiation of deposition, the metal issufficiently thin, the lower metal layer may be vanishingly thin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B are pictorial representations (through cross sectionalviews) illustrating two types of initial structures that can be employedin the present invention prior to the chemical vapor deposition of anitrogen-doped GeSb material.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus that canbe used in one embodiment of the present invention for the deposition ofa nitrogen-doped GeSb material.

FIGS. 3A-3B are pictorial representations (through cross sectionalviews) after deposition of a nitrogen-doped GeSb material onto theinitial substrates shown in FIGS. 1A-1B utilizing the method of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, which provides a CVD method for the deposition ofnitrogen-doped GeSb material and the structures formed by the same, willnow be described in greater detail by referring to the followingdiscussion and drawings that accompany the present application. It isnoted that the drawings of the present application are provided forillustrative purposes and, as such, the drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale.

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1A and 1B, which illustrate exemplarysubstrates that can be employed in the present invention. In FIG. 1A,the initial substrate 10 is an interconnect structure that includes atleast one opening 12 located within a dielectric material 14. Inaccordance with the present invention, the at least one opening 12 ofthe initial substrate 10 has an aspect ratio of greater than 3:1. The atleast one opening 12 illustrated in FIG. 1A includes a via 12A that islocated beneath a line 12B, e.g., a line/via structure. Although FIG. 1Ashows a single opening 12 in the substrate 10, the present invention isnot limited to the same. Instead, a plurality of such openings may bepresent.

It should be noted that although an interconnect structure including atleast one opening 12 is shown and is used as the substrate, the presentinvention is not limited to the same. Instead, the inventive method canbe used to form a blanket layer of a doped-nitrogen GeSb material acrossa substantially planar surface of a substrate which includes at leastone exposed insulating or non-insulating (i.e., semiconducting orconductive) material.

It is further noted that in FIG. 1A a line/via structure is shown by wayof example. Hence, the present invention is not limited to such astructure. Instead, other structures having different types of openings,i.e., lines only, vias only, trenches, etc., having an aspect ratio ofgreater than 3:1, are also contemplated herein.

FIG. 1B illustrates another structure 10′ that can be employed in thepresent invention. In this structure, dielectric material layer 14 is aninsulating material that has a substantially planar surface whichoptionally includes an intermediate adhesion layer 16. In the embodimentshown, a metal 18 is located atop the intermediate adhesion layer 12. Inother embodiments, the metal 18 can be formed directly atop thedielectric material 14 when the intermediate adhesion layer 16 is notpresent.

The dielectric material 14 that is employed in the present inventioncomprises any insulating material that is used as an interleveldielectric in interconnect technology. Typically, the dielectricmaterial 14 has a dielectric constant (as measured in a vacuum) of about4.0 or less, with a dielectric constant of about 3.7 or less being evenmore typical. Examples of such insulating materials that can be used inthe present invention as dielectric material 14 include, but are notlimited to: SiO₂, silsesquioxanes, C doped oxides (i.e.,organosilicates) that include atoms of Si, C, O and H, thermosettingpolyarylene ethers, or multilayers thereof. The term “polyarylene” isused in this application to denote aryl moieties or inertly substitutedaryl moieties which are linked together by bonds, fused rings, or inertlinking groups such as, for example, oxygen, sulfur, sulfone, sulfoxide,carbonyl and the like.

Although not shown, the dielectric material 14 can be typically locatedupon a substrate. The substrate, which is not shown, may comprise asemiconducting material, an insulating material, a conductive materialor any combination thereof. When the substrate is comprised of asemiconducting material, any semiconductor such as Si, SiGe, SiGeC, SiC,Ge alloys, GaAs, InAs, InP and other III/V or II/VI compoundsemiconductors may be used. In additional to these listed types ofsemiconducting materials, the present invention also contemplates casesin which the semiconductor substrate is a layered semiconductor such as,for example, Si/SiGe, Si/SiC, silicon-on-insulators (SOIs) or silicongermanium-on-insulators (SGOIs).

When the substrate is an insulating material, the insulating materialcan be an organic insulator, an inorganic insulator or a combinationthereof including multilayers. When the substrate is a conductivematerial, the second substrate may include, for example, polySi, anelemental metal, alloys of elemental metals, a metal silicide, a metalnitride or combinations thereof including multilayers. When thesubstrate comprises a semiconducting material, one or more semiconductordevices such as, for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS) devices can be fabricated thereon. When the substrate comprises acombination of an insulating material and a conductive material, thesubstrate may represent a first interconnect level of a multilayeredinterconnect structure.

When at least one opening 12 is formed into the dielectric material 14,it is typically formed utilizing lithography and etching. Thelithographic process includes forming a photoresist atop a hard maskmaterial (e.g., an oxide and/or a nitride) that is typically locatedatop the substrate, exposing the photoresist to a desired pattern ofradiation and developing the exposed resist. The etching processcomprises wet chemical etching and/or dry chemical etching. Of thesetypes of etching processes, a dry chemical etching process such asreactive ion etching, ion beam etching or plasma etching is preferred.In the case of a line/via structure, a conventional via-first then lineprocess may be employed. Alternatively, a line-first then via process isalso contemplated in the present invention.

As stated above, substrate 10′ of FIG. 1B may include an optionalintermediate adhesion layer 16. The optional intermediate adhesion layer16 comprises a metal or metal nitride. Examples of suitable metals forthe optional intermediate adhesion layer include, but are not limitedto: Ti, Ta, Ru, and W.

The optional adhesion layer 16 can be formed utilizing a conventionaldeposition process including, for example, chemical vapor deposition(CVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), evaporation,sputtering, plating, metalorgano deposition, and chemical solutiondeposition. In some embodiments of the present invention, theintermediate adhesion layer 16 can be formed in the same reactor chamberas that of the doped-nitrogen GeSb material without breaking vacuumbetween depositions.

When present, the optional intermediate adhesion layer 16 typically hasa thickness from about 1 to about 6 nm, with a thickness from about 2 toabout 4 nm being even more typical.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, a metal 18 is located atop theintermediate adhesion layer 16. In other embodiments, the metal 18 canbe formed directly atop the dielectric material 14 when the intermediateadhesion layer 16 is not present. Notwithstanding which embodiment isemployed, the metal 18 comprises any metal that is capable of forming aneutectic alloy with germanium. Illustrative examples of such metals thatare capable of forming an eutectic alloy with germanium include, but arenot limited to: Au, Al, and Sn. Preferably, Au or Al is employed as themetal 18. More preferably, Au is employed as the metal 18.

The metal 18 may be formed selectively on preselected regions (or areas)of the dielectric material 14 in which the nitrogen-doped GeSb materialwill be subsequently formed. In the embodiment illustrated, the metal 18is formed entirely across the structure including the intermediateadhesion layer 16 and the dielectric material 14. In yet otherembodiments, the metal 18 may be located on or within a specific regionof the structure including the dielectric material 14.

In some embodiments, the metal 18 may be formed on a substrate prior todepositing the dielectric material 14 as substrate 10′. In such anembodiment, the metal 18 would be present entirely underneath thedielectric material 14 and when an opening is formed in the dielectricmaterial 14 a portion of the metal 18 is exposed.

The metal 18 is formed by a conventional deposition process including,for example, CVD, PECVD, sputtering, electroless plating,electroplating, evaporation, chemical solution deposition andmetalorgano deposition. In some embodiments, the metal 18 is formedwithin the same reactor chamber as that of the GeSb material and thedepositions occur without breaking vacuum. In some embodiments,deposition, lithography and etching can be used in forming the metal 18on selective areas of the dielectric material 14, which may optionallyinclude the intermediate adhesion layer 16.

The thickness of the metal 18 that is used in ‘catalyzing’ the selectivedeposition of GeSb materials may vary depending on the material used aswell as the deposition process used in forming the same. Typically, themetal 18 has a thickness from about 1 to about 50 nm, with a thicknessfrom about 3 to about 10 nm being even more typical.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which illustrates a typical chemicalvapor deposition (CVD) reactor 50 that may be employed in the presentinvention to deposit the nitrogen-doped GeSb material on or with atleast a region of the structure 10 and 10′ shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Itis noted that although reference is made to the chemical vapordeposition reactor 50 illustrated in FIG. 2, the present invention isnot limited to utilizing only such a reactor. Instead, the presentinvention may be performed utilizing other types of chemical vapordeposition reactors that are well known to those skilled in the art.Other types of reactors that can be employed in the present inventionare elaborated further herein below.

Referring back to CVD reactor 50, the CVD reactor 50 includes a reactorchamber 52 in which the initial structure is positioned within. Thereactor chamber 52 is typically a vacuum enclosure including, asubstrate holder 54, a showerhead 56 that is connect to an intakemanifold 58, and a vacuum pump 60, such as a turbo molecular pump, thatcan be open or shut by a valve 62.

In accordance with the present invention, the initial structure ispositioned on a surface of the substrate holder 54 that is locatedwithin the CVD reactor chamber 52. A distance from about 5 to about 80mm typically separates the initial structure from the showerhead 56.Although such a distance is specifically mentioned, the presentinvention is not limited to the recited distance.

With the initial structure positioned within the reactor chamber 52, thepressure within the reactor chamber 52 is evacuated to a base pressureof less than 1E-3 torr, with a base pressure of less than 1E-6 torrbeing more preferred. The evacuation to this base pressure is achievedby opening the value 62 to vacuum pump 60.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the substrate holder 54typically includes a heating element which is capable of heating theinitial structure 10 or 10′ during the subsequent deposition of theGe-containing and Sb-containing precursors as well as the azide. Inaccordance with the present invention, the heating element is capable ofheating the initial structure 10 or 10′ to a temperature that is lessthan 400° C., with a temperature from about 250° to about 375° C. beingeven more typical.

Ge-containing and Sb-containing precursors as well as an azide (i.e.,the type of nitrogen containing precursor used in the present inventionto provide a nitrogen-doped GeSb material) are then directed to theheated structure by means of showerhead 56. In accordance with theparticular embodiment shown, the precursors including the azide areintroduced as a gas mixture to the showerhead 56 through intake manifold58. The precursor gas mixture is formed by admitting a flow of aGe-containing precursor typically, but not necessarily, in an inert gasfrom source 63 by means of a mass controller 64 and by flowing an inertgas from source 66 through mass flow controller 68 through bubbler 70that includes a Sb-containing precursor. The azide is introduced byflowing an inert gas from source 80 through mass flow controller 78through bubbler 76 that includes an azide as the nitrogen precursor.

The Ge-containing precursor may be a neat Ge-containing precursor, i.e.,not including an inert gas, or it may be diluted in an inert gas. Theterm “inert gas” is used in the present application to denote a gaswhich does not participate in the formation of the GeSb material.Examples of such inert gases include Ar, Ne, N₂, H₂, and He, with Arbeing highly preferred.

In accordance with the present invention, the Ge-containing precursorcomprises any compound or complex which includes Ge. Examples ofGe-containing precursors include germanes such as monogermane,digermane, trigermane and higher germanes, germane alkyls containingfrom 1 to about 16 carbon atoms, germane hydrides, and otherorgano-germanes. Preferably, the Ge-containing precursor is a germane(such as digermane) or a germanium alky containing 1 to about 6 carbonatoms such as, for example, tert-butyl germane.

The Sb-containing precursor that can be employed in the presentinvention comprises any compound or complex that includes Sb.Illustrative examples of such precursors include antimony alkylscontaining from 1 to about 16 carbon atoms, antimony amines, antimonyhydrides and other organo-antimony containing compounds. In onepreferred embodiment of the present invention, the Sb-containingprecursor is tris(dimethylamino) antimony.

The azide employed in the present invention comprises any compound orcomplex that includes an azide moiety, —N₃. The azide employed in thepresent invention thus comprises a compound or complex of the formulaA-B wherein B is an azide moiety and A is hydrogen or an alkyl thatcontains from 1 to 16 carbon atoms, which may optionally include a Siheteroatom. Preferably, the azide is one which does not pose anexplosion hazard, with trimethylsilylazide, which does not pose anexplosion hazard, being most preferred.

The flow of the three precursors gases employed in the present inventionmay vary depending on the desired stoichiometry of the resultantnitrogen-doped GeSb material. In accordance with the present invention,the flow of the Ge-containing precursor without the presence of an inertgas is from about 1 to about 1000 sccm, a flow of about 10 to about 300sccm of inert gas containing the Sb-containing precursor is employed,while a flow of about 5 to about 50 sccm of inert gas containing theazide is employed. When an inert gas is present with the Ge-containingprecursor, the flow of Ge-containing precursor is typically greater thanthe flow reported above for the neat Ge-containing precursor. In apreferred embodiment of the present invention, the flow of the neatGe-containing precursor gas is from about 5 to about 200 sccm, a flow ofabout 15 to about 50 sccm of inert gas containing the Sb-containingprecursor is employed, while a flow of about 10 sccm to about 15 sccm ofinert gas containing an azide is employed. In a highly preferredembodiment, about 5 sccm of 20% germane is employed, 20 sccm of Arcontaining 20 ml of tris(dimethylamino) antimony is employed, while 10sccm of Ar through a bubbler apparatus containing 20 ml oftrimethylsilylazide is employed. It is understood that flows describedabove apply to the particular reactor employed. Were another reactor tobe employed, e.g., with different volumes delivery line conductance andpumping speed, the preferred flows could deviate substantially fromthose given above.

It is noted that during the course of the deposition process thepressure within the reactor chamber 52 is maintained at a depositionpressure from about 1 to about 10 torr. Typically, the depositionpressure within the reactor is maintained at a value from about 6 toabout 8 ton during the deposition process.

It is further noted that instead of mixing the precursor gasses in asingle input manifold as described above and as is illustrated in FIG.2, the inventive method works equally well for cases where separatemanifolds are used for each precursor gas and mixing thereof can takeplace in the showerhead itself, or in the space between the showerheadand the initial structure. The later is referred to as a post-mixingscheme.

The precursors are typically provided to the initial structure 10 or 10′as a gas mixture, i.e., simultaneously. Although simultaneous contact istypically preferred, the present invention also can be employed when alayer of Ge is first provided utilizing the Ge-containing precursor andthen the Sb-containing precursor and azide are provided. In yet anotherembodiment, the azide is added after both the Ge-containing precursorand the Sb-containing precursor are added.

In accordance with the present invention, a deposition rate of about 2to about 1000 nm/min of a material comprising Ge, Sb and nitrogen can beachieved, with a deposition rate of from about 20 to about 150 nm/minbeing even more preferred.

Under the details and embodiment described above, the present inventionforms a material comprising Ge, Sb and nitrogen that fills the at leastone opening resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 3A or whichdeposits on the metal 14 resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 3B.The nitrogen-doped material can also be formed on a planar surface of asubstrate without the present of a metal. In FIGS. 3A-3B, referencenumeral 20 denote the material comprising Ge, Sb and nitrogen (i.e., thenitrogen-doped SiGe material).

In accordance with the present invention, the nitrogen-doped GeSbmaterial 20 has the formula Ge_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 2to about 98 atomic % Ge, y is from about 2 to about 98 atomic % Sb and zis from about 1 to about 20 atomic % N. More preferably, thenitrogen-doped GeSb material 20 provided in the present invention is onewherein x, the atomic percent Ge, is from about 5 to about 20 atomic %,y, the atomic percent Sb, is from about 80 to about 90 atomic %, z, theatomic % nitrogen, is from about 5 to about 10 atomic %.

In the embodiment in which a metal is formed, a surface layer of metal22 forms on the nitrogen-doped GeSb material 20. In accordance with thepresent invention, the surface layer of metal 22 comprises the samemetal as that of metal layer 18 which is also present in the structureshown in FIG. 3B. The surface layer of metal 22 has a thickness that isless than 5 monolayers thick, with a thickness from about 1 to about 3monolayers being preferred. The surface layer of metal 22 forms on thesurface of nitrogen-doped GeSb material 20 during the growth of layer20.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in formsand details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention notbe limited to the exact forms and details described and illustrated butfall within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A semiconductor structure comprises: a substrate including at leastone opening located therein, said substrate having an aspect ratio ofgreater than 3:1; and a chemical vapor deposited material comprising Ge,Sb and N located within said at least one opening.
 2. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1 wherein said material comprising Ge, Sb and N hasthe formula Ge_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 2 to about 98atomic % Ge, y is from about 2 to about 98 atomic percent Sb, and z isfrom about 1 to about 20 atomic % N.
 3. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 2 wherein said material comprising Ge, Sb and N has the formulaGe_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 5 to about 20 atomic % Ge, yis from about 80 to about 90 atomic percent Sb, and z is from about 5 toabout 10 atomic % N.
 4. The semiconductor structure of claim 1 whereinsaid substrate is an interconnect structure.
 5. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1 wherein said substrate includes a metal layer thatforms an eutectic alloy with germanium and said material of Ge, Sb andN.
 6. The semiconductor structure of claim 1 further comprising asurface layer of metal located on an upper surface of said materialcomprising Ge, Sb, and N, wherein said surface layer of metal includes asame metal as a metal layer present on said substrate.
 7. Thesemiconductor structure of claim 6 wherein said metal layer completelyspans an entire upper surface of said substrate.
 8. The semiconductorstructure of claim 6 wherein said metal layer is present as a metalregion on a portion of said substrate.
 9. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 6 wherein said metal layer comprises Au, Al or Sn.
 10. Thesemiconductor structure of claim 9 wherein said metal layer comprisesAu.
 11. A semiconductor structure comprising: a substrate including aregion that comprises a metal; and a material comprises Ge, Sb and N onsaid metal, wherein said material includes a surface layer of said metalthat has a thickness of less than 5 monolayers.
 12. The semiconductorstructure of claim 11 wherein said material comprising Ge, Sb and N hasthe formula Ge_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 2 to about 98atomic % Ge, y is from about 2 to about 98 atomic percent Sb, and z isfrom about 1 to about 20 atomic % N.
 13. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 12 wherein said material comprising Ge, Sb and N has the formulaGe_(x)Sb_(y)N_(z) wherein x is from about 5 to about 20 atomic % Ge, yis from about 80 to about 90 atomic percent Sb, and z is from about 5 toabout 10 atomic % N.
 14. The semiconductor structure of claim 11 whereinsaid metal comprises Au, Al, Ga or In.
 15. The semiconductor structureof claim 11 further comprising a surface layer of metal located on anupper surface of said material comprising Ge, Sb, and N, wherein saidsurface layer of metal includes a same metal as the region of metalwithin the substrate.
 16. The semiconductor structure of claim 11wherein said thickness is from about 1 monolayers to 3 monolayers. 17.The semiconductor structure of claim 11 wherein said region of metalspans across an entire surface of said substrate.
 18. The semiconductorstructure of claim 11 wherein said region of metal is located only on aportion of a surface of said substrate.